The question is do you really need a mobile dating app? Here’s why you might not need one.
Some people will tell you that you need a mobile app. In some cases you might but in other cases it can hinder the signup process. Let me give you an example of a major niche dating website that doesn’t use a mobile app. They are CupidMedia.com. They are the largest niche market dating network and own over 30 different niche dating sites. They collect over 10,000 profiles each day. Guess what? No mobile app. They have a responsive design. There are many others. The key is responsive.
In the niche market dating world you need to have a good profile base. Without a profile base you will not make money in the online dating world. So you need profiles. When you force your members to download a dating app, you force that user to add more steps to the registration process. Like I said you need profiles and giving people more steps to get into your dating site can turn them completely off and you can lose them. In this day and age the attention span of a user is just a couple clicks. Forcing a mobile app download adds 3 additional steps to that registration process because the user has to be redirected to the mobile app page, then they need to download the mobile dating app, then they need to install the mobile app and then they need to register. You’re losing a lot of important profiles because of these additional steps.
The next question is how do you convert the mobile traffic to a registered user? It’s easy. You have a responsive design. Responsive design means that as soon as someone comes to your dating site on their mobile device they immediately get a version that adjusts to their device. This mobile version fits their device no matter what it is. Whether it’s a iPhone, iPad or Android device, it will automatically adjust to fit their screen. This is key to getting that user registered and onto your site quickly. Users coming to your dating site are coming because you offer something different than a general dating site. By cutting out those extra steps you will get more people creating profiles.
Now, should you have a mobile app? It depends. If you already have a great source of traffic then you could consider a mobile app but if you’re just starting out then you will need as many signups as possible so offer the responsive design and capture them quickly. You can still offer a mobile app to existing users once they are registered. Just don’t offer them the option during the registration process. Remember, you’re not match.com so you need to get and retain your members.
iCupid dating software comes with over 20 responsive templates and a mobile browser and is standard in ALL packages.